Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a smear preparation apparatus and a smear preparation method.
Description of the Background Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H10-90144 discloses a smear preparation apparatus provided with: a staining basket which accommodates a plurality of glass slides; a transfer mechanism for hanging and moving the staining basket; and a liquid storage container for storing a staining liquid therein. In the smear preparation apparatus of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H10-90144, the transfer mechanism immerses the staining basket accommodating a plurality of glass slides, into a staining liquid in the liquid storage container, whereby the plurality of glass slides are stained at one time.
The smear preparation apparatus of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H10-90144 has the following problems. That is, since a plurality of glass slides are stained at one time in the staining basket, and staining operation is not performed until a plurality of glass slides are accumulated in the staining basket, the time period turn around time) from the tune when an order of smear preparation is generated until the smear is prepared becomes long. In addition, there is also a problem that since staining is performed by using the staining basket, the size of the apparatus is increased.